Die Strümpfe

I was going to save this until tomorrow so that I wouldn't have to come up with something to kick off NaBloPoMo but I was too excited. They're finished!

Sorry the picture's not that great but I have yet to master photographing my own legs and without some sort of large sock blocker they look kind of floppy on their own.

Overall, I'm happy to be done with them and can't wait to wear them.

SP11 Halloween Gift

I received another package from my secret pal. This time there is hand-painted yarn with contrasting yarn for the toe and heel, some Bath and Body products, a packet of hot chocolate (yum), and strawberry and pepper flavored dark chocolate that I am interested to try. Thanks, Secret Pal!

Work + Batteries need to be charged = No pictures

I figured I'd do a bit of a knitting update even though I can't share any photos right now. I've got about a third of the motif of the second German Stocking completed and have begun decreasing for the calf shaping. I haven't been knitting on it much and I want to finish it by the end of the month for The Yarnery's sock KAL. I've been taking a bohus hat class there the past couple of weeks and it's been a lot of fun. The color work is fun and I enjoy the inclusion of purls which add a nice texture to the fabric.

The main thing I've been knitting on is a log cabin afghan out of Simply Soft using the tutorial in Mason Dixon Knitting. It's already over 2' x 2' and I'm trying to decide if I want to make it into a full sized afghan or keep it to baby blanket size. It goes pretty quickly since it's all in garter stitch so it makes really good mindless TV knitting. I've even been a good knitter and have been weaving in my ends occasionally so that I don't pull my hair out later when the blanket is done.

That's all for now. I'll try to get the camera going next week so that I have pictures to talk about once NaBloPoMo begins.

Boots!

I'm usually not too excited about any kind of shopping that isn't yarn shopping but right now I have a huge desire to go shoe shopping. Why? Boots. Need them, want them, probably in black, and they must have cute buckles. I don't even know what height I want them to be, but they need buckles. Do I need boots? Hell no! I have some fairly new black Dr. Marten Mary Janes that I wear most of the time. It would at least make a little sense if I wanted brown boots since I realized the other day that I wanted to wear brown socks and a brown belt but did not have brown shoes. I am now going to bash my head in with my shoe so I'll stop being such a girl.

These are the boots that inspired this insanity. I don't even like the whole boot that much, I'm just enthralled with the buckles. I really need to cancel the Piperlime emails. It's all their fault.

Why People are Silly

I didn't want to add to the drama in the actual Ravelry thread, but I had to say something about this. One of the Ravelry beta t-shirts includes the tagline that's been used for Ravelry on the site, on buttons, and other places, "Where my stitches at?" This is a fairly obvious, but funny, play on "Where my bitches at?" and people need to get over themselves. There has been a couple of gripes in the t-shirt thread about how this phrase is grammatically incorrect. Duh! Plus, there are two other t-shirt options. And I will wear my "Where my stitches at?" shirt with just as much pride as me "Good grammar costs nothing!" shirt.

Banned Book Week

I know that the week is almost over, but I wanted to post about Banned Book Week which is held by the American Library Association each year during the last week of September. Great authors like Toni Morrison, Mark Twain, and John Steinbeck have been banned for several different reasons throughout the years. While I think that many of the reasons that books have been banned from various public and school libraries are valid for why a person would not want to read a book or why parents may feel that their child should not be exposed to certain ideas, I don't think that a few people should be able to decide for everybody what reading material should be available to them. I support the ALA in bringing awareness to banned books and hope others do to.

NaBloPoMo

So, remember when I called myself foolish for making a goal to post at least once a week? Well, I've actually been doing OK with that and have now stepped it up to the next level. I signed up for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). If that name sounds vaguely familiar to anyone, that's because this project was inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and also takes place during the month of November. So basically, NaBloPoMo = NaNoWriMo for wimps.

The way it works is that you post every day during the month of November. That's pretty much it. And then there are prizes for the people that have entered and complete this challenge. So I'm giving it a try. Sorry if I start reaching for material a bit much.

SP11 Meme/Contest

For the secret pal exchange I'm in we have to say what our favorite of each of the following things are to enter a contest. Here goes!

Actor - Neil Patrick Harris (robbed of the Emmy)
Actress - Reese Witherspoon
Animal - Chinchilla
Band - Rilo Kiley
Book - The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Bubble Bath - Peach or citrus scented
Candy - Chocolate
Color - Purple
Flower - Daisies
Food - Banana bread
Lip Balm - C.W. Bigelow (the stuff they sell at Bath & Body)
Lotion - Warm Vanilla Sugar hand cream from Bath & Body
Movie - The Princess Bride
Song - "It's a Hit" by Rilo Kiley
TV Show - Heroes (if we're talking current, because it's a debate for my all-time favorite)
Vacation Spot - Boston